Football dial chart



April 11, 1967 w. P. CUMMINS 3,313,045

FOOTBALL DIAL CHART Filed June 4, 1964 ATTORNEY United States PatentOfiice 3,313,045 Patented Apr. 11, 1967 3,313,045 FOOTBALL DIAL CHART Walter P. Cummins, Monroevilie, Pa., assignor of fifty percent to Frank W. Knisley, Pittsburgh, Pa. Filed June 4, 1964, Ser. No. 372,490 2 Claims. (Cl. 35-74) This invention relates to a dial card for use in instructing football .players and spectators as to various factors relating to different player formations.

The game of .football is both played and watched by persons having much or little knowledge of basic football theory including theory of formation. However, as in most sports and competitive activities, greater enjoyment and success is derived by those having a .ready knowledge of the basic reason or purpose behind formations and maneuvers employed by the participants. Of course, the more the participants know about the basic reasoning behind particular plays, formations and maneuvers, the better the participants will be able to take full advantage of the inherent strength and weaknesses of such plays, formations and maneuvers.

Until the present, football players have been instructed in football theory primarily by so-called chalk talks which are simply illustrated lectures wherein one or two football plays are diagrammed on a blackboard with players being located symbolically and shown how to maneuver to take advantage of the strength of his position or the weakness of his opponents position. Spectators are instructed as to football formation theories, if at all, by casual remarks made by radio or television announcers, and sometimes by half-time lectures on television by a noted coach. I have determined that present instructional approaches are inefficient and thus at least partially ineffective as there is no fully satisfactory way of rapidly conveying a great amount of information as to football formation theory, either to teach football players their fundamentals or to assist the spectator in understanding the game so as to increase his enjoyment thereof. Even if the information is conveniently set forth, it is difiicult to retain without some aid.

Accordingly, it has been an object of my invention to fully investigate and study the requirements for a convenient tool to efficiently assist in conveying and retaining the fundamentals of football formations to players and spectators;

Another object of my invention has been to devise and develop a pocket size dial card that is readily manipulated to provide basic information as to various phases of a large number of standard football formations;

A further object of my invention has been to devise a football dial card that can be readily manipulated to immediately select information concerning one of a large plurality of formations to be investigated;

A further important object of my invention has been to devise a dial card that is readily manipulatable to permit rapid comparison of many different football formations without confusion or physical inconvenience.

These and other objects of my invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art from reading and understanding the following description of my invention, the novel concepts on which it is based, and an illustrative embodiment thereof.

One phase or novel concept of my invention relates to the construction of a dial card having a main or formation dial on which is printed a plurality of football player,

formations schematically illustrated as in a conventional chalk talk. A cover dial having a cutout or window means overlies the main dial so as to screen out undesired formations and reveal only the formation sought at any one time. The cover dial is printed with a single football formation that is complementary to or opposes the formations shown on the main dial. For example, if the main dial carries a plurality of defensive formations, the cover dial will carry a single standard offensive formation. Similarly, if the main dia-l carries a plurality of offensive formations, the cover dial will carry a single standard defensive formation. The respective schematic formations are arranged on the main dial and cover dial respectively so as to face a common line of scrimmage when any formation on the main dial is brought into alignment with the cutout. In this way the relationship between players in various formations can be quickly observed simply by rotating the window of the cover card into alignment with a desired formation on the main card. Specific instructional material, such as the strength and weakness of each formation on the main card, can be simultaneously revealed with the physical relationship between the players. By employing a single standard formation on the cover card, the user can rapidly compare various opposing formations against for 7 example a proposed modification in the standard formation or where the main card carries defensive formations, against a particular offensive play simply by a penciling in the change or play on the cover dial and rotating the main dial to bring various opposing formations sequentially into view.

" enough with the names of formations to be able to locate a particular formation thereby. For example, a sixthree formation involves six men in the line of scrimmage and three line backers, a five-three formation involves five men at the line of scrimmage and three line backers, a T formation has a back field that is shaped like a T, a wing T formation is a modification of the standard T, etc.

These phases or novel concepts of my invention will be more fully understood when considered in light of the following description of a specific illustrative embodiment of my invention wherein reference is made to the accompanying drawings of which:

FIGURE 1 is a front view of a football dial card constructed in accordance with my invention and showing the'moving parts in one position of cooperative alignment;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view of the dial card shown in FIGURE 1 and taken along line II-II thereof; and

FIGURE 3 is a front view of the dial card with a portion removed as indicated by line IIIIII.

Turning now more specifically to the drawings, in FIGURE 1 there is shown a football dial card, instruction wheel or chart 1 constructed in accordance with my invention. The dial card 1 illustrates various defensive football formations as they relate to a standardT formation offense.

The dial card 10 comprises a generally disc-shaped main or formation dial 11 that is preferably made of relatively thin suitably stilf cardboard or laminate-d plastic and cardboard and has opposed surfaces 12 and 13, and a pair of secondary or cover dials 14 that are substantially identical in construction and preferably are also made of a suitably stiff cardboard or laminated plastic and cardr board.

The cover dials 14 and main dial 11 are assembled or sandwiched as shown especially in FIGURE 2 and are mutually interconnected by a centrally located rivet 15 or other conventional axis means. .When so connected, the cover dials 14 and main dial 11 are rotatable with respect to one another. The front surface 12 of main dial 11, as best shown in FIGURE 3, has a plurality of equiangularly spaced schematic representations 16 of different football formations of a defensive team which are printed or engraved thereon so as to face equivalent geometrical lines such as equivalent chords 17 of the main dial 11. The

chords 17 are equivalent in that they are spaced equidistantly from thecenter of the main dial 11. The back or opposed under surface 13 of the main dial 11 is printed with further defensive formation representations 16 (not shown) in the same manner. In addition to the schematic representations 16, the surfaces 12 and 13 have instructive information 18 such as the strength and weakness of the various defensive formations printed thereon in co-' operative angular association with respective representations 16.

The cover dials 14 extend radially outwardly from the center of the main dial 11 up to and beyond the equivalent chords 17 and the representations 16, but have a diameter 19 that is slightly less than the diameter of the main dial 11 such that an outer peripheral rim or hand gripping portion 20 is visible at all times. The cover dials 14 each include window means or cutout 21 that preferably has a straight line chordwise extending portion 22 that extends along an equivalent chord 17 of the main dial 11 and represents a line of scrimmage.

The cutout 21 is sized and located to simultaneously reveal one of the schematic representations 16 and the information 18 pertaining thereto. A further schematic representation 23 of an offensive football team is printed or engraved on each of the cover dials 14 adjacent the straight line portions 22 in cooperative juxtaposition therewith, as if facing the line of scrimmage it represents. The rim 20 of the main dial 11 is printed with equiangularly spaced defensive formation titles or name indicia 24 that are cooperatively angularly associated with respective schematic representations 16 by lying in the same segment of the main dial 11 as the schematic representation 16 which they identify. As the rim 20 is always visible, it is a Simple matter for the user of the dial card to select a desired defensive formation by its title 24 and rotate it into position within the cut-out 21 of the cover dial 14. Thus the spectator or player, having a dial card lfiiconstructed in accordance with my invention, can quickly select one of a large number of defensive formations by name from the indicia 24, rotate the main dial 10 to bring the desired formation into the cutout 21 and view the player relationships between opposing teams while simultaneously receiving instruction as to the strength and weakness of the particular formation selected. In addition, if a player wished to compare the strength of several defensive formations against a somewhat modified oflensive formation or againsta play run from the standard offensive formation, this can be done simply by marking the modified formation or play movements on the cover dial 14 and rotating the defensive representations formation 16 sequentially into the cutout 21. a

It will be noted that the cutout or window portion 21 of each cover dial 14 is defined by transverse base edge portion or straight chordwise extending portion 22 that connects inner ends of a pair of side edge portions 22a.

The side edge portions 22a, as shown particularly in FIG- URE 1', extend from the peripheral edge of each cover dial 14 and con-verge inwardly to connect with the trans verse base edge portion 22. As also illustrated in FIG- URES 1 and 3, each face of the main dial 11 is divided into'a series of equal sectors thereon having a different football play indicia, as provided by a team formation or playing position indicia 16 that defines the transverse base of the sector and by an information data indicia 18 that is located radially-outwardly of the team indicia. Thus, as a result, there are a plurality of sectors on th face of the main died 11, as defined by the indicia thereon that are, in effect, complementary with and are exposed by the cutout or window portion 21 of each rotating outer or cover dial 14.

To make the dial card selector fully practical, the window portion 21 must always be accurately aligned with respect to the particular sector of the main or base dial 11, so that the individual members of the team formation indicia along the base portion of the particular exposed sector will be in a proper opposed playing relation with individual members of the teamformation indicia along the transverse base'cdge portion 22 of the window 21 of the cover dial 14. This, as shown particularly in FIG- URE 1, is accomplished by providing cooperating alignment centering means on the trans-verse base of each sector of the main dial 11 and on the transverse base edge portion 22 of the cover dial 14, as indicated by the radial lines a and b that, as shown, have a mid or intermediate location on the sectors of the main dial 11 and on the transverse base edgeportion 22 of the cover dial 14. As a further assurance of proper alignment, small radially sloped indicator lines c may be provided defining the limits of each sector of the main dial 11 for alignment with the side edge portions 22a of the window portion 21 of the cooperating cover dial 14.

In order to provide a requisite number of plays whose title indicia 24 is located on the exposed outer peripheral face portion of the main dial 11, cover dials 14 may, as shown, be rotatably mounted for operation on opposed side faces of the main dial 11. The general construction and type of indicia, of course, as previously indicated, will be followed on both faces of the main dial andon each of the cover dials 14. The smaller diameter of each cover dial 14 thus defines an exposed peripheral face portion along each face of the main dial 11 which bears the title indicia 24 and enables the operator of the device to quickly locate any desired play.

'While I have described a preferred embodiment of my dial card 10 for purposes of illustration, it will be appreciated by those skileld in the art that the basic concepts of my invention are not so limited. For example, one or 1 both of the cover dials 14 can be printed with a standard defensive formation such as a six-three defense and the main dial 11 printed with various offensive formations such as a T formation, single wing, wing T, I formation, etc. Also, it is within the contemplation of my invention to provide a dial card having a plurality of defensive formations on a first disc and a plurality of offensive formations rotatably connected on a printed polygonal card, facing the defensive formations for selecting any desired combination ofoffensive and defensive formations to r'apidy permit the visualization of the many combmation formations presently employed in modern football. Accordingly, it is to be understood that various changes may be made in this construction by those skilled 1n the art without departing from the spirit and disclosed concepts of my invention as particularly pointed out and defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A football dial card selector which comprises, a disc-shaped main dial having at least one face divided into a series of equal sectors thereon; the face of each said sector being provided with an indicia representing a different football play, having 'a team formation indicia defining a transverse connecting base of the sector, and having lnformation indicia thereon radially-outwardly of said team formation indicia thereon; a disc-shaped cover dial having means centrally-pivota lly mounting it for relative rotative movement on the one face of said main dial, said cover dial having a smaller diameter than said main dial to exposea peripheral face portion of the latter, different title indicia on-said peripheral face portion within each said sector, said cover dial having a window portion extending radially-inwardly from its outer peripheral edge and having inwardly-converging side edges and a connecting transverse base edge portion defining an exposed area that is complementary with respect to each said sector of said main dial, an opposing football team formation indicia on the outer face of said cover dial along said transverse base edge portion thereof, and cooperating alignment-centering means on the transverse base of each said sector of said main dial and on the transverse base edge portion of said cover dial for aligning said window portion with each said sector to fully expose the indicia thereon and accurately align individual members of the team formation indicia of each said sector with individual members of the opposed team member indicia of said cover dial when said cover dial is rotated with respect to said main dial; said alignmentcentering means comprising, a radial line located midway along the transverse base of each said sector, and a cooperating radial line located midway along the transverse base line edge portion of said cover dial.

2. A football dial card selector as defined in claim 1 wherein, a second cover dial of the same defined construction as the first-mentioned cover dial is provided, said sec- 0nd cover dial is positioned on the opposite face of said main dial, said centrally-pivotally mounting means rotatively mounts said second cover dial on the opposite face of said main dial, the opposite face of said main dial is of the same defined construction as the one face of said main dial, the opposite face of said main dial and the outer face of said second cover dial have the same type of indicia and the same location as the one face of said main dial and the outer face of the first-mentioned cover dial, and the opposite face of said main dial and the outer face of said second cover dial having cooperating alignrnent-centering means thereon of the same defined construction as the one face of said main dial and the outer face of the first-mentioned cover dial.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 872,700 12/19/1907 Van Halder -70 2,681,623 6/1954 Sellers 4070 EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner.

H. S. SKOGQUIST, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A FOOTBALL DIAL CARD SELECTOR WHICH COMPRISES, A DISC-SHAPED MAIN DIAL HAVING AT LEAST ONE FACE DIVIDED INTO A SERIES OF EQUAL SECTORS THEREON; THE FACE OF EACH SAID SECTOR BEING PROVIDED WITH AN INDICIA REPRESENTING A DIFFERENT FOOTBALL PLAY, HAVING A TEAM FORMATION INDICIA DEFINING A TRANSVERSE CONNECTING BASE OF THE SECTOR, AND HAVING INFORMATION INDICIA THEREON RADIALLY-OUTWARDLY OF SAID TEAM FORMATION INDICIA THEREON; A DISC-SHAPED COVER DIAL HAVING MEANS CENTRALLY-PIVOTALLY MOUNTING IT FOR RELATIVE ROTATIVE MOVEMENT ON THE ONE FACE OF SAID MAIN DIAL, SAID COVER DIAL HAVING A SMALLER DIAMETER THAN SAID MAIN DIAL TO EXPOSE A PERIPHERAL FACE PORTION OF THE LATTER, DIFFERENT TITLE INDICIA ON SAID PERIPHERAL FACE PORTION WITHIN EACH SAID SECTOR, SAID COVER DIAL HAVING A WINDOW PORTION EXTENDING RADIALLY-INWARDLY FROM ITS OUTER PERIPHERAL EDGE AND HAVING INWARDLY-CONVERGING SIDE EDGES AND A CONNECTING TRANSVERSE BASE EDGE PORTION DEFINING AN EXPOSED AREA THAT IS COMPLEMENTARY WITH RESPECT TO EACH SAID SECTOR OF SAID MAIN DIAL, AN OPPOSING FOOTBALL TEAM FORMATION INDICIA ON THE OUTER FACE OF SAID COVER DIAL ALONG SAID TRANSVERSE BASE EDGE PORTION THEREOF, AND COOPERATING ALIGNMENT-CENTERING MEANS ON TRANSVERSE BASE OF EACH SAID SECTOR OF SAID MAIN DIAL AND ON THE TRANSVERSE BASE EDGE PORTION OF SAID COVER DIAL FOR ALIGNING SAID WINDOW PORTION WITH EACH SAID SECTOR TO FULLY EXPOSE THE INDICIA 